The Consumer and Social Media Retaliation

Providing an amazing customer experience is the goal for many companies. Empowering employees to make the right decisions regarding this matter is also crucial. However, everyone can remember a time they were dissatisfied with their experience and were probably more likely to fill out that survey on the bottom of your receipt. I admit I have done it as well. Consumers are much more likely to voice their opinion when they have a poor experience, versus when their experience is amazing.

The Social Age plays into this idea by making it extremely easy for a customer to voice their opinion on many different social media platforms including; Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, Yelp, TripAdvisor, and many more. Rebecca Grant writes about some staggering statistics regarding social media retaliation in her article. Here is a section from her article:

“Turns out 85 percent of consumers will retaliate against a company if their customer service needs are not met. 49 percent of all consumers will stop doing business with that company, and 18-34 year olds are three times as likely to vent their frustrations on social media.” (Grant)

I am a millennial currently living in the Social Age, and working in customer service on and off throughout college I completely agree with her statement. With the ease and accessibility of social media platforms it is extremely easy to go onto your smartphone’s app and write a bad review if you were less than satisfied with your experience. Social media also allows the reach of a customer’s opinion to go much farther. In “How Social Media Has Changed The Customer Experience Forever,” Ross Beard states that this reach has increased by 25 times.

With the many social media outlets available to customers it is essential to allow them to feel heard and following up is crucial in the Social Age. The quicker response the customer receives the more likely they are to not head to social media to blast your company in a negative way. This is a new challenge for many companies going forward with more people with access to smartphones and social media platforms.

Are you more likely to fill out a survey if you are happy or angry? Let me know by leaving a comment!